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LOT 1352
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 in. (349 grams, 88 mm).
Ovoid in profile with a domed filler hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s.
Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.
FootnotesApart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
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LOT 1352
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
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Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp
7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Slipper-shaped in plan with spike handle, raised rim to the filler hole, broad shoulder with raised radiating bars, stub nozzle, low basal ring, with inked inscription to verso which reads: '11-6-1963 / Front the old / ROMAN CITY / SEBASTIA / SAMARIA'. 83 grams, 89 mm
From a late Hampshire gentleman's collection, formed from the 1960s.
The shape of the lamp is similar to that of the candlestick-type lamps. The form of the channel and the handle point to a late date, i.e., the end of the 7th or the beginning of the 8th century A.D. -
Byzantine Ceramic Oil Lamp Collection
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Comprising: a piriform lamp with a band of stylised quadrupeds surrounding the large filler hole, ribbed handle; a discoid lamp with raised linear decoration, wheel motif to base. 195 grams total, 9.6-10.1 cm
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Bulbous body with domed filler hole, two circumferential bands below the neck; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 407 grams, 89 mm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
